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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Opinion

‘Survival of the Nicest: Customer Service as a Business Growth (and Survival) Engine’

Micah Solomon’s headline above and column on Forbes.com really hits the nail on the head about customer service being everything to a company’s wellbeing. In the article, he notes, “Customer service is the essential growth engine for any company finding its footing in the entrepreneurial world. You don’t have the luxury today of building a […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service General Marketing

Trust, like, respect: reverberating in my brain

The more I think about it, the more these three simple but enduring concepts are capturing my thoughts about customer service, marketing, and just about everything else. These three words endure as key criteria of why we choose to do business with someone: regardless of their status as a solopreneur or Fortune 500 company. And […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Opinion

Emotional intelligence prevails when system glitch surfaces at Amazon

A couple weeks back, I ordered two items on Amazon. When the delivery failed, I requested and immediately received a full refund. I re-ordered the items. Two days later, the “undeliverable” items showed up. I likely could have kept quiet and gotten everything free. Instead, I called and explained the situation. At first, the rep […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Kudon'ts Kudos Opinion

Tale of two companies: Nova Home Loans displays emotional intelligence in contrast to loan servicer emotional ignorance

A key tenet of successful customer service is the level of emotional intelligence or ignorance that prevails. This pervades all facets of customer service, but one where much improvement is needed is the written word. Especially now, amid major stress, anger, and frustration, corporate America could do itself proud by communicating positively and supportively. Instead, […]

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Building Bridges Customer Service Empowerment Techniques

4 practical, tactical tools to achieve the best ‘Customer Force of 1’ outcomes

There is an etiquette of sorts that will help ensure achieving the best possible Customer Force of 1 results from higher-ups in the organization you’re targeting for help and resolution. Here are four tips to help you get there: Leverage your initial contact with the regular customer service department. Sometimes, when you’ve experienced poor customer […]

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Building Bridges Customer Service Empowerment Techniques

Be a customer service force of 1

While customer service departments and representatives generally are doing a better job of addressing consumer satisfaction in a timely and complete manner, it’s not always sufficient to rely on others to move the process forward. In some cases, the impacted customer needs to go further and farther to pierce the normal routes and get needed […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Kudon'ts Kudos

Peloton experiences ‘under delivering’ customer service woes

It may be Joe Biden’s stationary bike of choice, but Peloton is currently a poster child for under delivering, with buyers expressing strong frustration about long waits to get their bikes delivered. Notes the New York Times in a January 17, 2021 article: “Peloton’s Rapid Rise Is Threatened by Its Slow Delivery…The company has boomed […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service

Maine senator offers valuable 2021 customer service insights

On 60 Minutes recently, Maine Senator Angus King called Maine “a big small town.” When interviewer Jon Wertheim asks what he meant, King responds, “If you’re from Maine and you stop on the New Jersey Turnpike for gas, and the car next to you has a Maine plate on it– I guarantee within 30 seconds […]

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Building Bridges Business Development Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service

Trust will drive consumer loyalty in 2021

In a world filled with distrust and discord, building and maintaining brand trust will be more important than ever in 2021’s customer service equation. Companies offering and delivering on trust promises will see increased customer loyalty and longevity along with beneficial effects of positive reviews and word-of-mouth. Companies coming up short in the trust arena […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service

We’ve taken to calling them ‘Karens,’ but they abound across both genders and beyond

Where does customer service cross over into undeserved customer entitlement? A recent T-Mobile ad campaign got me thinking about this important distinction, with the “I want it all…and I want it now” theme. While competent, dedicated and sincere customer service needs to continue growing in this country, the opposite is true of our entitlement mentality, […]